This week was eventful for startups and the venture capital world, with numerous funding announcements and the latest edition of Y Combinator’s Demo Day grabbing attention.
Key Departures: Several prominent figures, including CTO Mira Murati and top research executives, are departing OpenAI. For more details on these departures, check out the full story.
Ive’s New Venture: It’s now confirmed that former Apple designer Jony Ive is collaborating with OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman on an AI device startup. This venture, still unnamed, is potentially aiming to raise up to $1 billion by the year’s end.
AltGPT: AI startup Letta, launched by the creators of MemGPT, has emerged from stealth. The company is positioning itself as a competitive, open alternative to OpenAI.
Data Pipelines: Airbyte, a data integration startup, introduced Airbyte 1.0 with a focus on AI applications. Additionally, its self-managed enterprise service is now broadly available.
Noteworthy Fundraising Activity
The COVID-19 pandemic had contrasting effects on businesses, with some nearly collapsing and others flourishing. Now, many are stabilizing, and certain market trends are being reinforced.
Fitness Focus: German fitness startup EGYM secured $200 million in a Series G funding round, underscoring growing investor interest in preventative healthcare.
Tech Transformation: Whatfix, a platform based in San Jose that offers interactive guides for third-party software, raised $125 million in a Series E round led by Warburg Pincus.
AI Boost: Supabase, an open-source developer platform centered around Postgres, raised $80 million in Series C funding. AI use cases now account for 10% of its active databases.
Fusion Energy: Marvel Fusion raised €62.8 million in a Series B round to advance its efforts in creating commercial fusion energy using lasers.
Productivity Gains: British startup Raycast raised $30 million to expand its Mac productivity app to Windows and iOS, targeting “prosumer” users.
VC and Fund Developments
Exits: Peak XV Partners, a major VC fund focused on India and Southeast Asia, has reportedly realized $1.2 billion in exits since separating from Sequoia last year.
Defense Tech Surge: European defense technology is projected to receive $1 billion in VC investment this year, marking a sharp rise in interest for dual-use technologies.
Spanish Fund: Spanish VC firm All Iron Ventures has rebranded as Acurio Ventures and raised $166 million for a third fund dedicated to “follow-on” investments.
Lastly
Y Combinator’s online Demo Day for its Summer 2024 batch took place on September 25 and 26, with AI startups stealing the spotlight. The event format is also evolving, with four Demo Days planned per year, including a hybrid online and in-person event scheduled for December 4.
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